Aviva aims to carbon neutralize

Aviva has announced its commitment to carbon neutralize its operations on a worldwide basis, according to a press release.Allan Griffiths, CEO of Aviva Australia, said the announcement provides an important endorsement of Aviva Australia’s ongoing program of sustainable business practices including limiting its impact on the environment.The company is planning to compensate for the carbon output of its consumption of non-renewable sourced electricity and gas from buildings and business travel, including air, car and train, across all of its global operations.This will be on a retrospective basis starting with emissions generated in 2006.To neutralize the carbon impact of its business globally, Aviva will invest in projects that generate carbon credits. The credits will come from a combination of carbon mitigation methods such as tree planting and renewable energy generation projects that do not release carbon to the atmosphere such as solar or wind power.”Our decision to go carbon neutral is a significant step and one we have not entered into lightly,” said Richard Harvey, group chief executive of Aviva plc. “We believe climate change to be the most important environmental issue facing the world and as a forward thinking company we are playing our part in addressing this challenge and would encourage other businesses to follow suit.”According to the press release, Aviva would be the first insurer to carbon neutralize its operations.